If you’ve ever spent a fair bit of your life chillin’ in the backyard—grilling, gardening, casually throwing the occasional frisbee at no one in particular—you’ve probably had that moment where you’re like, okay, but what else can I do out here? Like, what’s one thing that can make this space feel a little less like “just a patch of grass.” A little more like “an actual fun zone?” My husband was doing just that the other day, grilling some meat, when he suddenly said that he wanted to make our backyard a little more beautiful and exciting.
Enter: your own backyard bowling alley.
Yes, an actual bowling lane. And before you start picturing a gnarly construction project involving a construction crew with thousands of dollars marked up on materials, just chill. You can absolutely do it. One guy on Imgur—who goes by the handle Makgyver87—literally built his own backyard bowling lane using a little lumber, some rope, and a lot of imagination. No contractors, no pro carpentry license, just a good weekend project based on some sketches. Plus, a trip to pick up lumber.
So, here is how it happened.
First of all, before one single nail went into the ground, he made several rough sketches of what he wanted it to look like. You certainly don’t need an architectural background, but a few drawings will help keep the idea from going completely sideways halfway through. Then, just for some extra clarity, he made a CAD drawing. This is obviously optional if you aren’t into computer modeling, but it does definitely provide a better visualization. It shows what you are building, as well as how it might all fit together.
Then, it was about getting the wood. Pretty simple task; he went to the lumber store and picked what was available. No hardware store specific items, just whatever was available and cheap. The best part about this is the majority of the items are non-specific.
Next, we need to get on to the pins. This is where he was clever. He created his own pulley system to reset the pins. This eliminated the need of walking down the lane every single time. As you can see in one of the photos, there is a rope tied to the pins, draping over the fence. Pulling the pins up can all be done without doing any bending over, or walking back and forth. Not rocket science, but, it’s pretty clever.
There is even a side casing where the bowling balls are stored. Which is functional and further legitimizes the whole setup. Nothing flashy, just a designated spot to keep the balls from rolling and/or getting kicked under the nearest bush.
Was there some trial and error? Of course. But, that’s part of the fun of it. It’s not a matter of having every cut and measurement the first time. It’s about figuring it out as you move through it. Honestly, you wouldn’t want to do this project with just one handy person. You would want a couple buddies to do it with. Once you put some music on and create a snack break schedule, and argue about angles, that part of the weekend becomes the best part.
Also, once you get it all cut, slapped together, you can paint and decorate how you want. You can do the traditional bowling lane layout with your stripes and numbers, or you can do something weird like glow in the dark. Speaking of glowing, this DIY glow-in-the-dark driveway is another amazing project. It’s your backyard! In either case, it would be a hit for summer barbecues, casual get-togethers, or just something fun to do with the family when everyone is bored with boardgames.
If you are wondering how it all came together and would like to see what the original drawings look like, what the entire measurements were, and lots more in-progress photos, you can see the whole project online. The whole process is there, and it is surprisingly easy to follow when you get going.
And what if bowling is not your thing? Well, there seems to be the resources floating around to make your own backyard golf, so apparently backyard upgrades really do have no limits.
